Customised ethnic cosmetics
companies catering specifically for ethnic consumers in the US
market.
According to Fox, African American, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern and Native American women are the focus for its range of products. The company says that offering skincare products for women of colour is not about harsh chemicals that make the skin lighter - a treatment that has proved popular for women with darker ethnic skin colouring in recent years.
Rather than going down the skin lightening route, the company offers nourishing products that aim to extenuate and brighten the natural skin tone, combined with a customisation process that is claimed not to have been available for ethnic skin types in the past.
"At Fox Custom Cosmetics, all ingredients utilised are plant-based, cold-pressed or steam distilled to preserve their botanical properties," a press statement said. "They soothe, nourish, moisturise and regenerate the skin with no cheap fillers. The products are lovingly created by a small staff whose primary goal is the health and spiritual well-being of the consumer."
Fox says its cosmetic line will be a one-on-one beauty consultation to determine the needs of individual consumers, by creating individual products for its consumers. This allows for a natural looking foundation, a personalised range of eye colour and a signature lipstick, all without mixing shades. For clients who have problems with acne or wrinkles, the ingredients needed to fix these problems can be added to the foundation and skincare products, the company also said.
Until very recently there have only been limited cosmetic ranges available for women with lighter skin tones, which has often led consumers to mix there own foundations or coloured make-ups to get the exact tones to suit their complexions.
However, together with the Fox range, there is now a growing number of cosmetics companies that have launched ranges exclusively catering to ethnic skin tones in the past year. Most recently Haute Face emerged on the US and UK markets with a line of cosmetic products also aimed at ethnic consumers.
Fox and Haute Face are tapping into a market that dhas plenty of potential for further development. Industry experts estimate that of the total $6.1 billion (€4.58bn) spent on health and beauty products by ethnic consumers in the US last year, $1.5 billion was spent on ethnic-specific health and beauty products.
Currently M.A.C, the largest player in this category, attracts a 50 per cent ethnic customer base, but other players such as Bobbi Brown and Chanel also have established ranges.
Another indication of the growing importance of this category is the fact that US supermarket chain Kroger last month appointed TWT Distribution to exclusively source ethnic cosmetic and beauty products.
